Research summary of the indoor air quality monitoring with respect to the volatile organic compounds concentration in new composite panel houses

摘要

This study is a follow-up of a pilot project aimed to design and build energy efficient and environmentally sound houses for low income families in a neighborhood of Saint Paul, MN. Previously the relationship between House One characteristics, occupant behavior, ventilation rate and concentration of the volatile organic compounds were assessed and the indoor air quality evaluated with respect to available guidelines. Although the second and the third house were built similarly, some changes in the building material structure and ventilation design may induce changes in the VOC concentration in the houses. The most abundant VOC in the House Two and House Three were hexanal, alpha-pinene, toluene and undecane, the same compounds being observed in the first house. Although the maximum TVOC concentration (0.38 mg/m~3) measured in a sample taken from the second house was 83% lower compared with the maximum measured in the first house, the average total VOC concentration measured in the third house during the sampling sessions were significantly higher (1.26 mg/m~3). The interior area (oriented strand board) covered by paints and other coatings in this house is relatively large. Based on the laboratory screen testing during the first study, the substrate did not have a substantial impact on VOC emission profiles; however the coatings such as primer and topcoat latex paint had a significant impact on TVOC mass emitted from paint.